美国语文第三册 第28期:勇敢与懦弱

 　　LESSON 30 第30课

　　deal  交易

　　straight  直

　　courage  勇气

　　reproach  责备

　　cowardice¹ 懦弱

　　depth  深度

　　effort  努力

　　coward  懦夫

　　deserved  应得的

　　schoolmates 同学们

　　COURAGE AND COWARDICE 勇敢与懦弱

　　Robert and Henry were going home from school, when, on turning a corner, Robert cried out, "A fight! let us go and see!" 罗伯特和亨利走在放学回家的路上，就在路口拐弯处，罗伯特大声喊道：“有人在打架！我们去看看吧！”

　　"No," said Henry; "let us go quietly home and not meddle² with this quarrel. We have nothing to do with it, and may get into mischief³." 亨利说：“不去，我们还是老老实实地回家，不要被这类吵架事件牵扯。我们不但帮不上什么忙，或许还会更加添乱。”

　　"You are a coward, and afraid to go," said Robert, and off he ran.  “你是个胆小鬼，不敢去是吧，”罗伯特说完，自己一个人跑开了。

　　Henry went straight home, and in the afternoon went to school, as usual. 亨利径自回家，下午还是照常去学校上课。

　　But Robert had told all the boys that Henry was a coward,and they laughed at him a great deal. 但是，罗伯特却告诉其他小孩子——亨利是个胆小鬼，他们都在嘲笑他。

　　Henry had learned, however, that true courage is shown most in bearing reproach when not deserved, and that he ought to be afraid of nothing but doing wrong. 不过，亨利了解真正的勇敢是在忍受本不应得的耻辱时表现出来的，而且他并没有做坏事，理应无畏无惧。

　　A few days after, Robert was bathing with some schoolmates, and got out of his depth.  几天后，罗伯特正和同学们在一个水池中洗澡，不自觉地浸入到深水区。

　　He struggled, and screamed for help, but all in vain. 他挣扎着，大声地求救，但是一切都徒劳。

　　The boys who had called Henry a coward, got out of the water as fast as they could, but they did not even try to help him. 那些叫亨利胆小鬼的孩子们都尽快地跑了出来，甚至没有一个人想到去帮助他。

　　Robert was fast sinking, when Henry threw off his clothes,and sprang into the water.  罗伯特正在迅速下沉，此时，亨利脱下衣服，跳入水中。

　　He reached Robert just as he was sinking the last time. 就在罗伯特将要沉下去的一刹那，亨利抓住了他。

　　By great effort, and with much danger to himself, he brought Robert to the shore, and thus saved his life. 经过努力，亨利不顾个人安危地将罗伯特拉至岸边，就这样拯救了他的生命。

　　Robert and his schoolmates were ashamed at having called Henry a coward.  罗伯特和同学们都对自己称呼亨利是个胆小鬼而感到很羞愧。

　　They owned that he had more courage than any of them. 他们承认亨利比任何一个男孩子都勇敢。

　　Never be afraid to do good, but always fear to do evil. 永远不要惧怕做好事，但总要当心别做恶事。

1 cowardice   

n.胆小，怯懦

参考例句：

• His cowardice reflects on his character.他的胆怯对他的性格带来不良影响。
• His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice.他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。

2 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

3 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。